[BestofPrincess]

There is a confirmed carrier horses there
http://www.cecilwhig.com/articles/20...13/news/02.txt

Fair Hill horse virus scare
* Training center tightens security pending more tests


Monday, February 13, 2006 8:31 AM ESTBy Jane Weaver jweaver@cecilwhig.com

Bryan Craft uses Lysol to decontaminate a starting gate Saturday in an effort to prevent the spread of an equine virus at the Fair Hill Training Center. Horses at Fair Hill Training Center are being tested today for an airborne virus after one animal that tested positive for the potentially deadly bug last week.

The center’s general manager, Sally Goswell, said Friday the horse had spiked a fever, but was not showing any neurological symptoms of the disease, known as Equine Herpesvirus or EHV-1.

Owners of several infected horses across Maryland have had to euthanize their animals in recent weeks.

“He tested negative on the blood test, but positive on the nasal swab which shows he is shedding the virus,” Goswell said Friday. By Sunday, the animal’s fever had abated.

The training center is home to more than 400 horses.

The first symptom of EHV-1 is a high fever, according to Dr. John Lee, president of the Cecil County Ag Advisory Board and an equine veterinarian with a practice in Pennsylvania. Some horses also develop balance problems and upper respiratory infections.

Lee said in advanced stages the virus causes neurological problems, including acute weakness.

“Sometimes the disease is hardly noticeable. The horses that die get so weak that they go down,” he said.

A pregnant mare with EHV-1 will often suffer a viral abortion.

“If your horse goes off feed and spikes a fever, have it looked at,” he said.

Goswell said the horses at Fair Hill are still “bright, eating and acting well.”

The barn where the infected horse is boarded has been voluntarily quarantined. To prevent further spread, additional security officers are monitoring the facility.

“We have guards at both entrances to prevent horses from coming in. Horses can leave, but we’re not letting any others in,” Goswell said.

Lee said the airborne virus is always present and is transmitted through the respiratory system. The problem comes when a large number of horses in confined in an enclosed space.

Humans cannot contract the virus, Lee said, but people can help spread it by using the same towels and water buckets with different horses.

“If they take a rag and wipe an infected horse’s nose, then use it on another, that’s how it can be spread,” he said.

Lee added that in the barn environment, the animals are stressed so much that even those with proper medical care and up-to-date vaccinations can get the virus.

“This is highly contagious,” Lee said.

The virus takes about three weeks to move through a horse. When the horse is shedding the virus, Goswell said, anything it touched is considered contagious for

24 hours.

Precautions at Fair Hill will include tight control of traffic, in not only the affected barn, but also the other 16 barns at the training center.

Goswell said any of the center’s staff members who enter the barn that houses the horse in question are barred from going into the other barns. Similarly, service people such as blacksmiths will have to go to the infected barn last on their rounds.

According to Goswell, horse riders who use the adjacent state park land will still be able to come in with their trailers and ride the trails on the state-owned property.

“They have absolutely no contact with these horses,” Goswell said.

In January, several horses were euthanized and barns were put on quarantine at Pimlico when the virus swept through. There have also been scares in Bowie and on a Kent County farm, where a second horse was euthanized earlier this month.

The discovery of the virus is the second blow to the training center in just over three months. Fire killed 31 thoroughbreds Nov. 1 and burned their barn to the ground, causing several million dollars damage.

Horse safety tips

The Maryland Depart-ment of Agriculture makes the following suggestions to help limit the spread of disease:

Trailer interiors

•Always clean and disinfect vehicles used for moving horses and other livestock after each use;

•Mix one part bleach to 10 parts water and spray over areas in which horses make contact during shipment.

Car, truck, and trailer tires

•Taking a few minutes to spray disinfectant over tires can kill germs picked up in parking lots, on dirt roads, or in a stable or pasture area.

Hands, shoes,

and clothes

•Take time to clean and disinfect shoes;

•Mix three parts bleach to two parts water and pour solution into a shallow container to dip shoes in after each shipment;

•Washing hands with soap and water after handling horses will limit a person’s ability to pass on germs;

•Change clothes or coveralls after handling horses from different locations;

•Wash clothes before wearing them again to handle and ship other horses.